NWCPHP Regional Partners Discuss New Avenues for Workforce Training

NWCPHP hosted partners from throughout the Northwest to discuss developments in public health training and research during the annual Regional Network Steering Committee meeting held March 28–29.

NWCPHP hosted public health partners from throughout the Northwest for the 2017 Regional Network Steering Committee meeting in Seattle held March 28–29.

NWCPHP hosted partners from throughout the Northwest to discuss developments in public health training and research during the annual Regional Network Steering Committee meeting held March 28–29.

April 13, 2017

In a fast-changing and ever-more-challenged public health landscape, how can the Northwest Center for Public Health Practice (NWCPHP) best align with its public health partners in delivering training and other services?

This was one of the main questions attendees and organizers of the 2017 Regional Network Steering Committee (RNSC) took on during the meeting, which NWCPHP hosted in Seattle on March 28 and 29.

Among the ideas NWCPHP and its partners discussed were strategies for making training more convenient for participants by bringing more offerings to locations around the region, where partners live and work.

“We are always looking for opportunities to improve the way we do things to better address the needs of our practice partners,” said NWCPHP Director Betty Bekemeier.

“We have the training development and content expertise to share with our partners, but we are well aware of the barriers that prevent them from taking advantage of these opportunities as much as they’d like, including the time and costs associated with attending in-person offerings,” said Bekemeier.

Meeting attendees said they value the interactive nature of in-person trainings. They also acknowledged that sending instructors to their geographic areas would allow them to open up training opportunities to others who might otherwise not be able to attend in Seattle. Attendees also weighed in on additional training formats, such as combining more in-person training with distance learning materials from NWCPHP’s website and strengthening existing mentorship programs.

Representatives from partner organizations such as the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board and the Northwest Regional Primary Care Association, as well as representatives from state and local public health agencies in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington attended the annual meeting.

“This is a really engaged group and I really like the sharing of ideas that occur here,” said Bridget Canniff, Project Director, Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board.